The Technical Innovation System of Self-Driving Vehicles in Road Freight Transport : Towards an understanding of Actor Dynamics, Sustainability Outcomes and New Competencies

Abstract: Over the last decade, advancements in connectivity, driving automation technology and electrificationin combination with changing customer demands have started to rapidly transform the way in whichgoods are being transported. Following this fast rate of development, self-driving vehicles (SDVs) inroad freight transport are anticipated to operate on public streets within the next couple of decades. The road freight transport sector is particularly feasible and attractive for driving automationtechnology. In this sector, there are strong economic incentives and rationales to implement SDVs inroad freight transport as it presents possibilities to eliminate or drastically reduce driver costs,optimize vehicle usage rates and improve energy efficiency. Widespread adoption of SDVs isespecially feasible for so called node-to-node freight transport flows, carried out between importantlogistics hubs. Node-to-node road freight transport is characterised by repetitive and predictive flowsof goods, conducted in less complex driving environments such as highways and industrial areas. Although SDVs are predicted to bring significant impacts to the transport system and society,research on the potential influence of commercial use cases of SDVs in road freight transport is scarce.Research aiming to provide an overview of how different type of actors are involved in shaping thedevelopment, deployment and future operations of SDVs in road freight transport is also limited. This paper provides an understanding of system-level impacts of SDVs in node-to-node road freighttransportation. It also provides a synthesized view of opportunities and barriers that actors are facingin relation to a large scale use of SDVs in road freight transport. This understanding makes it possiblefor stakeholders to identify expectations, needs, policies and strategies to govern a sustainabletransitions of the transport system. In addition, the paper provides an investigation of requirementsfor new knowledge and competencies along with development. By using technical innovation systems (TIS) as a theoretical approach for the study, differentcomponents and aspects of the Swedish freight transport system are described and analysed inrelation to SDV development and innovations. The TIS framework consists of a set of systemcomponents involved in the generation, diffusion and utilisation of a technology, and therelationships between the components. TIS components include actors, institutions, and networks,where networks describe the relationships between actors and institutions. In the paper, Sweden isused as case study. The results are based on 19 qualitative interviews with representatives from abroad spectrum of actors all being part of, or expected to be part of, a road freight transport systemwhere SDVs is a central component. By analysing the interview results using the TIS framework, one of the main findings is that the publicsector together with truck manufacturers are key actors in governing and enabling acommercialization of SDVs in road freight transport. Truck manufacturers have a great power inshaping the system by driving the technical development of SDVs, while government agencies areresponsible for regulations and guidelines influencing the direction of development. The results further indicate that the introduction of SDVs in road freight transport would implychanging dynamics between the actors and other components of the TIS. One example is the role ofroad carriers and freight forwarders who are currently two of the most central actors in the freighttransport system. In a transport system with SDVs, those actors may become less influential. Likewise,actors that are currently not having a central role in the freight transport system may become moreinfluential. For instance, SDVs can catalyse a development towards electrification. This is a way ofexpanding the system boundaries and implies that new actors, such as energy companies and fuelretailing companies, begin to investigate how they could develop their business models to become a part of an evolving market. This is important in order to be able to compete and engage in a systemwith SDVs. Another finding is that there is a consensus among interviewed actors that SDVs must be adapted tothe existing road infrastructure system rather than the other way around. At the same time, acompletely new digital infrastructure system is being created around SDVs, which is necessary tohandle the large amounts of data required for SDVs to operate. Furthermore, the connection betweenelectrification and automation is somewhat ambiguous - some claim that there is clear symbiosisbetween the two technologies while others argue that they just happen coincided in time. Finally, the results indicate a lack of holistic and systematic perspectives among the actors on howthe development and deployment of SDVs could contribute to sustainability in the freight transportsystem. It is critical to at this early state of implementation govern and shape technologicaldevelopment and business models in a direction that ensures a sustainable path for a future transportsystem with SDVs.